Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith to Quit Show?
Brace yourselves, Downton Abbey fans. The show could soon be saying goodbye to its matriarch.
Maggie Smith, who plays the witty Dowager Countess of Grantham, has yet to sign on past Season 3. Smith's co-stars Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonnerville, Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle renewed their contracts through a fourth and fifth season, TVLine reports.
The 77-year-old actress isn't the only cast member holding out. Producers are stuck in limbo as they wait for Dan Stevens, Siobhan Finneran and Jessica Brown Findlay to commit.
"Downton Abbey has a history of major surprises, and the producers are not opposed to changing casting within the show to add to the drama," a source told the Mirror. "But it's hard to imagine the series without Maggie Smith or Dan Stevens involved in some way."
The source added: "To write the Dowager Countess out of the series, or even kill off the character, would be Downton's boldest storyline yet."
Season 3 of the Golden Globe-winning British period drama is currently filming with a full cast, but ITV hasn't yet commissioned the series beyond that. The upcoming season airs in the UK in September and the US in 2013.
